We're thrilled about current efforts focussed on the future of Nantucket's downtown. Increasingly, Town government, non-profits, and philanthropic entities are guided by the desire to keep our town thriving, and are not content to stand by while market trends create less than ideal results.

Planning issues are near and dear to my heart, and I wanted to make sure that Bookworks' customers (both on and off-island) are aware of the ways you can have a voice in shaping the future development of our town.

1) This week Re-Main Nantucket, the recently formed philanthropy focussed on downtown, is funding a study by the Urban Land Institute. The ULI panel will be holding a public forum on Monday October 13th at the Whaling Museum, from 5-7 PM, and a wrap-up session at the Atheneum on Friday at 9:15 AM.

2) The Board of Selectmen has appointed a Downtown Revitalization Committee to make recommendations to the Town. I [Wendy Hudson] am honored to be on the committee, and I invite you to share your thoughts with me so I can report back to the group. Respond to this email, give me a call at the store, or stop by Thursday evening to chat.

3) Sustainable Nantucket and the Chamber of Commerce are in the process of launching a "Think Local First" Campaign. If you would like to get involved with that, please let us know!

4) A draft of the Nantucket Master Plan has been released for public comment. Initial reports are very positive about the vision it sets out. See www.nantucketmasterplan.org for details.

Great things have been happening at Ye Olde Bookworks, and we thought we ought to mention a few of them...

-We hope you may have noticed that our recently upgraded ordering processes have resulted in much faster delivery times for our books. Improvements in our electronic ordering systems, as well as new stock management tools, have meant that the books you want are more likely to be in stock on our shelves. Speed is key considering our small size! We're very pleased with the results so far, and we hope you are too.

- Bookworks is well known for our sidelines, and I had the honor of being asked to speak on a panel about non-book buying at the recent annual trade show of the New England Booksellers Association, which was held in Boston at the end of September. Although the panel was called "Beyond the Booklight," I managed to drop in several references to Nantucket's own Fortune 500 book light company, LightWedge!

-Last winter, Bookworks got serious about getting green. We hired Verde, Nantucket's Green Build company, to analyze the store, and we signed on with Green Up, National Grid's renewable energy program. It costs more, and--obviously--it's worth it.

-Well into the fall, the age-old Bookworks tradition of ridiculously great hours continues. We are still open until 10:30 pm from May until December , seven days a week. When you can, please visit us in the evenings to make it worth the effort. You won't believe how easy it is to park!

Tough times demand a party! Come down to Bookworks on Thursday after work and hang out with other Nantucket peeps to commisserate about the state of the world and celebrate our community (As a sign at Stephanie's gift shop reminds us, "If you're lucky enough to be on Nantucket, you're lucky enough!")

From 5:30-7 PM we'll have refreshments (Nantucket Vineyard libations) and chit chat among the bookshelves. Afterward, anyone interested can head down to the Rose 'n Crown to see our good friends the Shingles (featuring bestselling Nantucket author/photographer Cary Hazlegrove on vocals) play an Obama party gig as a warm-up to the third presidential debate.